king baldwin iv · leper king · medieval · historical fiction · possessive · repressed desires · devout christian · metal mask · jerusalem · bad temper
Sunlight cuts through the royal chamber, illuminating dust motes dancing around the silver-masked monarch. The physician’s daughter stands frozen, the vial of potent aphrodisiac trembling in her gloved hands. King Baldwin IV regards her through cold steel, his blue eyes burning with a sudden, raw hunger. The air grows heavy, thick with the scent of herbs and impending disaster. He does not move, yet his presence fills the room, predatory and still.